


Rojo

by 01absns



Series: Colores [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25386859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/01absns/pseuds/01absns
Summary: Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson care for each other in different ways.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: Colores [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1795495
Kudos: 11





	Rojo

_Red -_ _Percy & Annabeth _

Annabeth

“ACHOO.” I heard as I walked into Cabin 3.

“Percy! Get back to bed,” I said after Percy began to stand up.

“I just need some more tissues from the restroom,” his voice came out like a scratchy whisper.

I got in front of him and said “no, just get back to bed. I’ll get them for you.” I set my duffle bag on the floor and made my way to the restroom. I found the tissues on top of the cabinet and walked back to the room. Percy was picking up the tissues that did not make it into the trashcan.

“Tissue basketball?” I asked.

Percy nodded yes and tried to laugh. “It’s the only fun thing I can do,” he coughed. He got under the covers and plopped his head on the pillows.

I sat down next to him and handed him the box of tissues.

“How are you feeling today?”

“How does it look like I’m feeling?” He gave me a face.

“Well, you look like shit.”

“I feel like shit. I feel like roadkill sizzling on the side of the highway.” He coughed and blew his nose on a tissue.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s going to be a couple of days before you start feeling better.” I began opening my duffle bag. “So, because I’m the best, I brought you some soup, tea, and snacks. I also brought my DVD player, so we can watch movies.” I smiled.

“Did you bring-” He coughed.

“Of course, I brought the Lord of the Rings,” I said.

It is a tradition for Percy and me to watch the Lord of the Rings whenever one of us is sick or feeling like _roadkill sizzling on the side of the highway_. We know a lot of the dialogue by heart, so it is something that we can easily watch without needing to pay much attention.

Percy lifted his two hands as a thumbs-up, coughed, and tried to smile. I got up and connected the DVD player to the small TV across Percy’s bed. I heard him shuffling through the snacks in the duffle bag.

Once I was done setting up the DVD player, I sat down next to Percy and admired his set up of the snacks.

“In order of importance, of course” he coughed. He had placed all of our favorite snacks closer to us and the others farther from us.

“No more talking for you. Drink some of the tea that I brought you and shush because the movie is going to start.”

He signed _okay_ and did as was told.

.

.

Percy had coughed and blown his nose all throughout the first movie, and he fell asleep midway through the second. His head had begun to lean forward, so I pushed it on my shoulder since he didn’t need to add neck pain to his laundry list of symptoms. I had a little bit of drool on my shoulder, but I didn’t really mind. I’m glad he was finally getting some sleep.

The first time that I ever took care of him was when he arrived at Camp Half-blood. I spoon-fed him ambrosia for a couple of days before he finally came to. I spent a lot of time watching him sleep and wondering who he was. He drooled and talked in his sleep. He mentioned his mom and blue chocolate chip cookies. At the time, I selfishly wanted him to be the child from the prophecy so that I could finally go on a quest and do something important. He was my way out.

A lot has changed since then, we’ve grown up together and gone on multiple quests. He is no longer the silly 12-year-old kid I had a mild crush on. He was a handsome teenager who constantly left me breathless. We are a year away from his 16th birthday, and I regret ever wishing that he was the child of the prophecy. I wish we had peace. We could focus less on surviving and start living. We could live normal lives (as normal as we possibly could as demigods). We could maybe go on a real date.

I am not good at expressing my feelings with words like Percy is. I made him a promise long ago that I was going to fight by his side no matter what. I intend to keep that promise. It is the only thing that I can control. Percy is not going to get hurt on my watch, and I am going to be here every step of the dangerous way.

Not everything has changed though, he still drools and talks in his sleep. Except that he doesn’t only mention his mom and blue chocolate chip cookies now, he’s added _Annabeth_ to his repertoire.  
  


* * *

Percy

I found Annabeth picking strawberries by herself an hour before dinner. Her cheeks were pink and splotchy from the sun.

“I have a problem,” I said as I plopped down on the floor next to her.

“What’s your problem today, Seaweed Brain?”

“My problem is that whenever there are massive storm clouds swarming in that big blonde head of yours, you shut out everyone around you.”

“Percy-”

“Please listen Annabeth.”

She pressed her lips together tightly.

“Don’t lie to me. I know that there is something going on with you.” She looked down. “You haven’t been acting like your sunshine self. It’s okay to not be okay all of the time. You don’t owe anyone anything, so you don’t have to be happy around everyone all of the time. But I know that when you start feeling this way, it means that something else is going on. I was giving you some time to see if you started feeling better on your own, but it’s already been a couple of weeks, and it breaks my heart to see you like this.”

She wiped a tear from her cheek.

“I know you want to control everything around you and solve all of your problems on your own. You’re the smartest person that I know. You can do anything you set your mind to. Most of the time, you can solve your problems, but what I want you to understand is that you don’t have to do everything on your own. If you’re not feeling okay, you can talk to someone. You can talk to me, and if you don’t want to talk to me, that’s okay. You don’t have too. You can talk to Grover or Thalia or your brothers and sisters or Chiron if you wanted.”

She grabbed a napkin from the basket and blew her nose.

“Whatever it is Annabeth, nothing will be big and bad enough to scare anyone away. You have so many people at camp who love you and care about you. _I love and care about you._ You have watched my back in all of the quests that we’ve been to. I am here for you, just like you are here for me.”

She looked up at me. Her face was red, and her eyes were watery.

“You do not have to deal with this on your own,” I finished.

“I,” she sighed. “I just-,” she paused again. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t sleep. It feels like I am still holding the weight of the sky. It feels like I am hyperventilating. I can’t catch my breath. I can’t take a break. It feels like I am running but I’m never getting to my destination. I can’t-,” her voice cracked.

“Hey, it’s okay.” I reached and put my arms around her. She rested her head on my shoulder. “Annabeth, you’re okay.”

“I know, but it's temporary. There is always another monster. There is always another hill that we need to get through. We can never just enjoy our small victories. How can I continue living when I’m just waiting for the next bad thing to happen?” She pulled away and pulled at the roots of her hair.

“Is that what has been worrying you?” I asked.

“Yes.” She whispered.

“Annabeth, this is a valid fear, and it is, unfortunately, something that we’re going to deal with for the rest of our lives. I can't promise you that things are going to get better tomorrow, but you’re not alone. I worry about these things too. We haven’t been able to rest since our first quest when we were 12, but I can’t sit around and think about it too hard because I’ll go to a dark place. That doesn’t mean that I don’t deal with my fears. I just try to recognize that there isn’t much that we can control. So, I have to control what I can. I can train. I can help the camp prepare for the war. I try to focus on the things that we can contribute to. Worrying about everything else will consume me, and I think that might be happening to you. I know that just talking about it won’t change anything, but I’m glad that you told me what was going on. It makes me feel less alone, and I hope that it makes you feel less alone too.”

She removed her hands from her hair and looked up. “It does.” She paused. “I understand I shouldn’t be worried about everything, but it is easier said than done. I know it’s ridiculous.”

“It is absolutely not ridiculous. Your fears are real, but you shouldn’t keep them bottled up.”

She gave me a weak smile.

We sat in silence and picked strawberries.

.

.

The sound of the dinner bell startled me.

I broke the silence “do you wanna walk to dinner together?” I asked.

“Sure.”

We were halfway to the dining pavilion when she said, “I think I’m gonna talk to Chiron about ways to deal with the anxiety.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea. I’m sure he will be able to help you.”

More silence.

When we arrived at the dining pavilion, she said, “thanks for pushing me.”

“You don’t have to thank me. That’s what I’m here for. I just want you to know that you’re not on your own, and I’m always here to help you with whatever you need. Always.”

“I-,” She paused. “Thank you anyway.” She smiled and hugged me tightly.

“You’re gonna be okay,” I whispered as she pulled away.

**Author's Note:**

> The order of the colors follows J Balvin’s iconic Colores album. (which is one of the best albums of 2020. thank you for coming to my ted talk.)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! This was harder to write than Amarillo and Azul. I knew I could easily associate red with love, but I wanted to explore how Percabeth would care for each other. 
> 
> Please leave me validation or commentary if you feel inclined to do so.
> 
> This will also be posted on FF.net (01absns) and Tumblr (abinthecinema).


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